Geekery: A Writer Takes Revenge on Her Horrible Commenters in ‘The Columnist’
Columnist Femke Boot wants to shut her critics up – permanently. Hell hath no fury like someone insulted on social media.
If you’re a Westworld fan you likely recognize Katja Herbers, she played the William’s daughter. In The Columnist she gets to tap into that same ruthlessness, but with more glee. The Columnist‘s satirical take on the effect of social media on mental health, with a focus on what it’s like to live online while female, makes it a perfect stop gap while we wait for Promising Young Woman to leave limbo.
The official synopsis:
“Why can’t we just have different opinions and be nice about it?” asks columnist Femke Boot. Oh, Femke! She knows life’s not like that, but to a person with morals, it’s a really difficult thing to comprehend as to why seemingly normal, decent people can be such horrendous monsters once behind a keyboard. It’s pretty much everyone, too – her otherwise friendly neighbor is a racist troll, respectable citizens wish her dead, and total strangers say things to her online you’d never say in public. “Never read the comments,” her writer boyfriend tells her, but she can’t help it. And when her desire to shut her critics up – permanently – becomes too tempting, she can’t help that, either. For someone so seemingly nice and decent, Femke Boot has a pretty violent nasty streak. Hell hath no fury like someone insulted on social media.
The Columnist will be available on the Fantasia Fest website on August 20th.
